High shipping costs in Canada have long burdened small business owners who sell their goods online. Out in B.C. and Alberta, some e-commerce business owners have even resorted to travelling south of the border to ship their parcels from the U.S. to save money and offer competitive pricing to their customers.
“Our customers nowadays expect free shipping. It’s tough to absorb costly shipping charges when we get international orders,” Michael E., owner of Hockey Authentic, told us recently.
At PayPal, our main goal is to offer cost-effective and affordable solutions for business owners so that they can survive and thrive in today’s global digital economy. In speaking with our merchants, we knew high shipping costs were a major pain-point, and in most cases, the number one factor in holding them back from cross-border trade.
Michael, who runs his business out of Burnaby, B.C., says since he started using PayPal’s new shipping solution, he’s saved about $1,000 a month on delivery costs.
“The shipping rates offered are making a huge difference in helping to lower costs, not only outside of Canada but within Canada as well,” he said. “It’s been amazing.”
For Brenda Watts, being out in PEI has made shipping especially frustrating. The talented woodworker and owner of Cattails Woodwork says being in a remote area means options are limited and the choices she does have are extra pricey.
“Being in a rural area, it is a trip to go to the post office,” she said. “Also, my shipping costs are higher being on the east coast because it is priced depending on destination, both across Canada and to the U.S. and overseas. It’s hard to be competitive when your shipping costs are so high.”
Based on the last three weeks since Brenda signed on to our shipping solution, she said she’s already set to save about $600 this month.
And this is her slow season. “My busiest season starts in September and I expect to triple those savings until late January/February,” she said.
Brenda said she appreciates the added details the solution provides, such as the ability to seamlessly import orders from other online shopping platforms, the ability to track every parcel despite its destination and one-day shipping to the U.S.
“This has been huge. Many of my parcels are gifts sometimes sent directly to the recipient and lots of folks leave it to the last minute or do not realize I am shipping from Canada,” she said. “I will get requests to rush or send express and the cost of doing that is so much more, it was unreasonable before these rates came along.”
Hockey Authentic, an online store specializing in NHL hockey jerseys and memorabilia, sells worldwide, with many of their customers coming from the U.S.
Michael said that being able to offer one-day shipping to his American customers is nothing short of “incredible.”
“Thousands of times we’ve next-day delivered a hockey jersey to a fan in the U.S. going to a game. This kind of delivery speed absolutely blows away our customers,” he said.
Cross-border trade is an essential part of a business’s growth. Export Development Canada (EDC) has found that companies that sell cross-border not only grow faster but make about 121 percent more revenue than businesses that don’t export.
With those kinds of stats, PayPal understands how important it is for business owners to have the opportunity and support to pursue cross-border trade.
Aside from providing drastic discounts on shipping, PayPal also securely enables merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies.
Our holistic approach to business solutions helps merchants save time and money, allowing them to reinvest both into their company.
And that’s exactly what Michael and Brenda are doing with the money they’ve saved on shipping.
“We’re going to continue to grow our inventory and offer the same high level of customer satisfaction,” Michael said.
Best of all, Brenda said she’s going to give those savings right back to her customers.
“I’ve always felt bad that I had to charge so much for shipping. These discounted rates give me the option from time to time to offer free shipping to the U.S. for purchases above a certain dollar amount which I could never justify before. It’s good for the buyer and it’s good for me.”
[i] Of a 2018 sample of 392,735 shipments made either within Canada or from Canada to any other country, a total of 82,272 shipments would have realized freight savings of 75 per cent by shipping with netParcel, as compared to the lowest posted carrier retail rate then available. These rates do not include non-freight surcharges.